Mayor appoints Midway privatization panel

Seven members come from politics, business and labor

Martin Nesbitt is president of Chicago-based The Parking Spot, which runs remote parking lots at airports around the country. (Yvette Marie Dostatni, Chicago Tribune)

Mayor Rahm Emanuel named a seven-member panel of business, labor and political figures to advise the city as it again explores the possibility of privatizing Midway Airport.

The committee, which includes individuals who have been helpful to the mayor in the past, will be asked to represent the public interest in any potential transaction. The creation of the panel is clearly a nod to public skepticism about privatization deals in the wake of the highly unpopular 75-year parking meter transaction.

Martin Nesbitt, co-founder of an airport parking company that does business as The Parking Spot, was among those named. The Parking Spot operates lots at 22 airports, including O'Hare International Airport. Nesbitt is a friend of President Barack Obama, who Emanuel served as chief of staff, and he donated $5,000 to Emanuel's campaign.

Emanuel earlier appointed Nesbitt's wife, Dr. Anita Blanchard, to serve on the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.

The Midway committee also includes Ald. Michael Zalewski, 23rd, and Ald. Carrie Austin, 34th. Zalewski, whose ward includes Midway, was chosen as chairman of the Aviation Committee after Emanuel's election. Austin, the longest serving African-American alderman, kept her chairmanship of the powerful Budget Committee when the mayor took office. Both are often pro-Emanuel votes on the City Council.

Another member is urban affairs specialist Frank Beal, a former steel executive who is now executive director of Metropolis Strategies, an organization that provided pro bono assistance on the economic growth plan produced last year by World Business Chicago, the not-for-profit agency Emanuel has made an increasingly important player in his efforts to grow the city's economy.

Attorney Martin Oberman, 43rd Ward alderman from 1975 to 1987, was named as well. He helped file a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of Emanuel's campaign during the controversy over whether Emanuel met Chicago's residency requirements to run for mayor.

Peter Skosey, executive vice president of the nonprofit Metropolitan Planning Council, will be chairman of the committee, while James Connolly, business manager of the Chicago Laborers District Council, will be vice chairman.

Chicago's first attempt at privatizing the Southwest Side airport involved a 99-year lease that would have brought in $2.5 billion. The plan died in 2009 when the financial markets froze.

The volunteer members of the newly appointed Midway panel will select a financial advisory firm with expertise in evaluating transactions to work with it.

"These civic leaders will be vigilant protectors of taxpayer interests as we explore potential opportunities with Midway Airport," Emanuel said in a statement. "Any potential deal must pass an extremely high threshold and this committee will ensure transparency, integrity and thorough deliberation in this process."

Mayoral spokesman Tom Alexander added, "The members of the advisory panel are bona fide leaders of the community with experience that is relevant to this process ... Mayor Emanuel does not and will not ever appoint anyone to a committee for any reason other than their ability to serve the taxpayers."

Emanuel has relied on hand-picked panels of experts and community members to offer their opinions as he considered controversial decisions in the past, though it's not clear how much actual influence they have had with the administration.

A group of advertising executives and architectural experts spent months offering input on proposals for municipal marketing deals, for instance. But city Chief Financial Officer Lois Scott and other city officials ultimately chose a plan by Interstate-JCDecaux LLC to put digital billboards on city property, and sent the idea to the City Council last fall for approval.

And Emanuel eschewed the free-wheeling, often raucous public hearings on the city budget favored by predecessor Richard Daley, instead attending small round-table meetings set up by mayoral allies with different interest groups.

The mayor's office said the Midway panel will provide written reports to the public that will be posted online throughout the exploration process. If the city chooses to go out for bids, the panel will evaluate the process and the proposal in a report to the City Council. The mayor's office reiterated that the Council will have at least 30 days to review any potential deal.

Last month the city decided to retain a slot for Midway in the Federal Aviation Administration's airport privatization pilot program. Later this month, the city will issue a request for qualifications from companies interested in putting forward proposals.

The city will require that any long-term lease be kept to less than 40 years. As well, proposals must include ongoing funding for capital improvements, provisions for sharing revenue with the city and assurances that costs for parking, food and beverages will be kept reasonable, the mayor's office said.